Matthew 12

12 ¹At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and eat them. ²Seeing this, the Pharisees said to him, "Look—your disciples are doing what's unlawful on the Sabbath."

³He said to them, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?" ⁴how he entered the house of our Father and ate the Presence bread, unlawful for him and his companions, reserved only for priests? ⁵"Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath, priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are guiltless? ⁶I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. ⁷If you knew what 'I want mercy, not sacrifice' means, you wouldn't have condemned the blameless. ⁸For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

The Father's Mercy Heals on the Sabbath

⁹He went on from there and entered their synagogue. ¹⁰A man with a withered hand was there. They asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"—hoping to accuse him.

¹¹He said to them, "Who among you with a sheep, if it falls in a pit on the Sabbath, won't grab and pull it out? ¹²How much more is a person worth than a sheep! So it's lawful to do good on the Sabbath." ¹³Then he told him, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other.

¹⁴But the Pharisees went out and plotted how to destroy him.

The Father's Beloved Servant

¹⁵Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all, ¹⁶and he ordered them not to tell anyone about him. ¹⁷This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁸"Look, my servant—Jesus—whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul delights. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. ¹⁹He will not quarrel or shout, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. ²⁰A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; ²¹and in his name the nations will put their hope."

A Kingdom Cannot Stand Divided

²²Then someone brought him a blind, mute demon-oppressed man, and he healed him so the man could speak and see. ²³And all the crowds were amazed and said, "Can this be the Son of David?" ²⁴But hearing this, the Pharisees said, "This man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, prince of demons."

²⁵Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is ruined, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷If I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So they will be your judges. ²⁸But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of our Father, then the kingdom of our Father has reached you. ²⁹Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and carry off his goods, unless he first restrains the strong man? Then he can loot his house.

³⁰Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ³¹So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³²Whoever speaks against the Son of Man will be forgiven; whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit won't be forgiven—neither in this age nor the age to come.

³³Make the tree good and its fruit good, or the tree bad and its fruit bad, for a tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things since you're evil? For the mouth speaks the heart's overflow. ³⁵A good person produces good from a good treasure; an evil person produces evil from an evil treasure. ³⁶I tell you, on judgment day people will answer for every careless word they speak, ³⁷for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

The Sign of Jonah

³⁸Then some scribes and Pharisees said, "Teacher, we want a sign from you."

³⁹He answered, "This evil, adulterous generation demands a sign. None will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰As Jonah was three days and three nights in the great fish's belly, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the earth's heart. ⁴¹Ninevites will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at Jonah's preaching, and something greater than Jonah is here. ⁴²The queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from earth's ends to hear Solomon's wisdom—and look, something greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³When an unclean spirit leaves a person, it travels through dry places seeking rest, and finds none. ⁴⁴Then it says, 'I will return to my house I left.' Coming, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself; they enter and settle there, and that person ends up worse off than before. So it will be with this evil generation."

The Father's True Family

⁴⁶While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak with him. ⁴⁷Someone told him, "Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you."

⁴⁸He answered the one who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?"

⁴⁹And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."